Where Do Phobias Come From?
A phobia is an intense fear of specific objects or situations that leads to persistent avoidance. For example, if someone feels strong fear when visiting the dentist but still manages to go and get regular dental care, this is not considered a phobia as a mental disorder—because there is no avoidance or related life limitations.
Modern science is dominated by what are called biopsychosocial models of mental disorders, including phobias. It’s easy to see that the word “biopsychosocial” consists of three parts, which reflect the main causes of phobic disorders. Thus, a phobia arises from the combined influence of three factors: biological, psychological, and social. These factors also interact with each other, strengthening or weakening the contribution of each one individually, which is why biopsychosocial models are considered systemic.
Biological Causes of Phobias
The biological causes of phobias are complex and related to the biochemical functioning of the brain. In particular, an important role in regulating arousal in the brain is played by GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid). GABA is a neurotransmitter (a substance that transmits impulses between neurons) that has a calming effect on the nervous system. Therefore, people who are prone to fear reactions often have a deficiency of GABA, which may be linked to genetic factors, prolonged stress, or exposure to toxic substances.
Psychological Causes of Phobias
However, biological vulnerability alone cannot lead to the development of a phobia. Psychological causes of phobias are described differently by various schools of psychology. For example, psychoanalysts believe that the formation of a phobia symbolizes an internal conflict that arose at a certain stage of psychosexual development (recall Freud’s famous “Little Hans” case, where a boy’s fear of being bitten by a white horse was interpreted as a displacement of the fear of being punished by his father for wanting closeness with his mother). Cognitive theories offer another perspective on the psychological causes of phobias (“cognitive” meaning related to thought processes). In these theories, a phobia is seen as the result of distorted assessments of the consequences of exposure to the feared object, such as “catastrophizing”: “I can’t handle this, it will kill me.”
Social Causes of Phobias
Social causes are usually linked to traumatic and stressful experiences, which can act as triggers for the development of phobias (for example, being bitten by a dog in childhood, suffering a serious illness, or hearing media reports about high risks of cancer or cardiovascular diseases). These triggers can only lead to the development of a phobia if there are so-called “diatheses” (predispositions) in a person’s biological and psychological makeup.
In summary, the causes of phobias are systemic, and reducing them to just one factor would be both incompetent and unfounded.